by Kamal Hylton

Hello War Room Nation!

This is Kamal Hylton of NBA Nation Australia and War Room Sports blog back with your weekly dose of NBA Quick Takes.

This week’s column has a distinct Southwestern flavor to it, taking a look at the association’s toughest group of teams in the Southwest Division. Consisting of the Memphis Grizzlies, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, defending champion San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans, all you have to do is watch some of the divisional games and it’s clear there’s no sign of weakness.

They beat up on each other nightly and this only helps them develop a tough skin for when the playoffs roll around, matching up with any of these teams will be a tough test when we get down to the nitty-gritty. Looking at the standings we could be witnessing a rare feat of having an entire division make the playoffs, the only team really in doubt are the New Orleans Pelicans fighting to squeeze into the Top 8.

This leads me perfectly into my first Quick Take.

Pelicans Playoff Bandwagon

Since they’re not on national TV often, I’m not sure how often a lot of you watch the Pelicans play but when things are going well they’re one of my “League Pass teams” and a fun bunch to watch. I’ve watched quite a few of their games (including covering them once for NBA Nation Australia when they played the Toronto Raptors) and they are very underrated, showing resiliency and fight. A perfect example of this was on Sunday night, witnessing them go toe-to-toe on League Pass against the division foe Dallas Mavericks and coming away with a 109-106 victory on a key defensive stop by Anthony Davis. This is a team I want to see under the bright lights of playoff basketball.

Even in the absence of star point guard Jrue Holiday, who’ll hopefully be returning from injury soon, they’ve had great performances by others holding down the fort. The main man in this regard has been Tyreke Evans, efficiently providing scoring punch and back court leadership. Evans has reinvented himself slightly from his Sacramento Kings days, showing an ability to guard multiple positions, be much more team oriented, and still have the capability to take over a game when called upon. Coach Monty Williams and the front office should also be given credit, securing two very strewed moves by adding Omer Asik in the offseason and the recent acquisition of Quincy Pondexter. Both have helped ease the burden on Davis defensively, Asik giving him a partner down low that will do the “dirty work”, allowing Davis to play his more natural power forward position (something he couldn’t do last season) while Podexter helps on perimeter defense. These players along with others like Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson are helping this team compete, but the main reason why I’m jumping on the Pelicans Playoff Bandwagon is to see the next stage of Davis’ development. He has quickly become one of the league’s dominant bigs, but we as NBA fans should hope he doesn’t get stuck in purgatory of a losing franchise (something his fellow University of Kentucky alum is experiencing in Sacramento).

Embrace Grit and Grind Basketball

Another team that doesn’t get much attention, despite being second in the Western Conference, are the Memphis Grizzlies. Most fans aren’t flicking through League Pass and landing on the Grizzlies, nor do they have the same “wow factor” as other teams. They aren’t nearly as exciting as those Golden State Warriors with their up tempo style and the “Splash Brothers” raining threes at the “Roaracle”, or as flashy as the Los Angeles Clippers high-flying act known as “Lob City”, but in its own way the style known as “Grit and Grind” basketball is a beautiful thing to watch.

This team is built for the playoffs, displaying a defensively focused mindset that is anchored by its two bigs, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. They take pride in stifling offenses, clog the lane, forcing bad shots, getting into the passing lanes, and being cerebral in half court sets. Grit and Grind is more than that though, it’s hard-nosed perimeter defense by players like Tony Allen, high basketball IQ from its point guard Mike Conley, and contributions from unheralded players.

Watching last night’s game against the Mavericks displayed just how deep this team can be, as they had players like Courtney Lee, Nick Calathes, and Beno Udrih step up seamlessly in the absence of Allen and Conley sidelined with injuries. Lee and Calathes combined for 5-for-7 from beyond the arc and Udrih managed the game without playing beyond himself, proving the system works and makes players better.

#TooMuchMonta

Do yourselves a favor the next time you watch the Dallas Mavericks, watch the effortless way Monta Ellis can take over a game. He has always had this ability, but this time it’s different. As mentioned on the latest episode of Court Vision, on War Room Sports TV, Ellis is showing that he has grown up from those bad Warriors and is far more efficient.

I recently wrote an article for NBA Nation Australia (http://nbanationaustralia.com/dallas-mavericks-masterminding-a-championship-contender-in-big-d/) on the Mavs masterminding a championship contender and my thoughts are now confirmed, that although Dirk Nowitzki is the face and leader of this Mavs team, Ellis’ role has arguably become much more important. During key stretches of tight games it’s the Jackson, Mississippi native that has the ball in his hands, his teammates knowing that he’s the first option on a pick and pop with Nowitzki.

This is in no small part due to coach Rick Carlisle putting the ball in his hands and giving him the confidence and responsibility to create while at the same time not overburdening. Enter Rajon Rondo. While most people were quick to say a Rondo/Ellis back court wouldn’t work I was on the opposite side (if you don’t believe me you can check my Twitter timeline). It’s still early, and it won’t be truly tested until playoff time, but having a player like Rondo buy into Carlisle’s system has been essential. With two legit threats in the backcourt, it becomes a “pick your poison” situation for opposing defenses and Ellis has been the major beneficiary so far. At times he becomes too much to handle, which has led me to adopt the hashtag #TooMuchMonta.

I borrowed this from Nowitzki’s line in this Mavs parody video of Run DMC’s ‘Can’t Be Stopped’.

To catch all my NBA writing, photos and videos visit (http://nbanationaustralia.com) or on twitter @NBANationOz (https://twitter.com/NBANationOz)

Kamal Hylton of NBA Nation Australia, for War Room Sports